Pneumatic gun

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a pneumatic gun capable of coating the bullets projected from it with a desired color for identification purpose. The pneumatic gun includes a gun body, a trigger, a gun barrel, a gas tank and a dye coating device. The dye coating device is mounted within the gun barrel, so that a bullet projected from the pneumatic gun is coated with dye having a desired color when passing through the dye coating device. As a result, the object hit by the bullet is stained with the color and can be easily identified.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pneumatic gun capable of coating the bullets projected therefrom with a desired color for identification purpose.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Paintball game has been considered as an adrenaline sport, in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by shooting paintballs or BB bullets from a pneumatic gun (commonly referred to as a paintball gun). The game simulates battlefield combat, where some players attack or defend against other players in a virtually real manner.

Rules for playing paintball vary, but can be roughly categorized into those for professional competitions and those for recreational contests. In a professional paintball competition, players are typically divided into two teams which occupy similar game fields scattered with similar terrains and bunkers, and the game is governed by a sound and complete set of rules and officiated by qualified referees. Depending on the rules, a professional paintball game can be played by two teams of five, seven or ten players, with the sevens being the most popular format worldwide. In order to catch up this trend, all of the tournaments organized or sponsored by the Chinese Taipei Paintball Game Association are now played by teams of seven players.

The recreational contests are normally taken place for pure leisure purposes. An amateur player may simply team up with himself or with various numbers of friends to constitute a paintball team of one, five, seven, ten or even more than one-hundred player(s) to fight against other teams. The rules for a recreational contest are relatively soft and free-style, so long as every player wears protective equipments and has a good time. In either case of professional competition or recreational contest, players are required to wear protective masks and equipped with pneumatic guns. The pneumatic gun is mounted with a compressed CO₂ tank, so that a player may release the CO₂ propellant by pulling the trigger of the pneumatic gun to propel paintballs or BB bullets through the barrel. Win or loss of the game is normally determined by wiping out the opponents.

The conventional paintballs used as the ammunition for the pneumatic gun typically have a brittle shell that encapsulates dye and tends to break upon impact. Therefore, the objects hit by the paintballs will be tagged with dye and can be easily identified. However, this dye-filled spherical structure is much less than ideal in view of its complexity in structure and difficulty in manufacture.

The commonly used BB bullets are made of plastics or ceramics. They are unsatisfactory for use in paintball games, since their volume is too limited to accommodate dye material. As a consequence, the objects hit by the BB bullets cannot be tagged with dye and can hardly be identified.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic gun capable of coating the bullets projected therefrom with a desired color for identification purpose.

In order to achieve the object described above, the pneumatic gun according to the invention comprises a gun body, a trigger, a gun barrel, a gas tank and a dye coating device. The dye coating device is mounted within the gun barrel and comprises a unidirectional check module and a dye coating module.

Therefore, a bullet projected from the pneumatic gun is coated with dye having a desired color when passing through the dye coating module. As a result, the object hit by the bullet is stained with the color and can be easily identified.

By virtue of the structural arrangement described above, the pneumatic gun disclosed herein successfully achieves the following advantageous effects.

-   -   1. The invention is adapted for directly coating a dye layer on         the bullet, rather than using the conventional dye-filled         paintballs with higher structural complexity.     -   2. When the bullet hits an object, the dye layer coated on the         bullet will somewhat transfer to the object, allowing the user         to easily confirm the hit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and effects of the invention will become apparent with reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pneumatic gun according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pneumatic gun according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the dye coating device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the unidirectional check module according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of the inner tube according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing that a bullet is passing through the unidirectional check module according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing that a bullet is passing through the dye coating module according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a bullet coated with a dye layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pneumatic gun according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pneumatic gun according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the dye coating device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in the drawings, the pneumatic gun 1 according to the invention comprises a gun body 10, a trigger 20 pivotally mounted to the gun body 10, a gun barrel 30 extending from the gun body 10 and having a free end formed with an outlet opening 31, a gas tank 40 and a dye coating device 50 mounted within the gun barrel 30. The trigger 20 is connected to and cooperates with the gun barrel 30 to project bullets from the outlet opening 31.

The dye coating device 50 comprises a unidirectional check module 51 and a dye coating module 52. The unidirectional check module 51 comprises at least one backflow-proof filter 53, preferably made of rubber material. According to the preferred embodiment disclosed herein, the unidirectional check module 51 comprises two backflow-proof filters 53. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the backflow-proof filters 53 comprises a convex portion 531 protruding toward the free end of the gun barrel 30 and formed with radially arranged incisions 532. The unidirectional check module 51 further comprises a first fastener member 54 provided with one or more third clip portions 541 and a second fastener member 55 provided with one or more fourth receiver portions 551. The respective third clip portions 541 are received by and engage the respective fourth receiver portions 551, so that the backflow-proof filter 53 is sandwiched in position between the first fastener member 54 and the second fastener member 55.

The dye coating module 52 installed in front of the unidirectional check module 51. The dye coating module 52 comprises a bullet passage tube 56 and a dye powder reservoir 57 surrounding the bullet passage tube 56. The bullet passage tube 56 is disposed in communication with the dye powder reservoir 57 via a plurality of apertures 561, and the dye powder reservoir 57 contains dye powder with a desired color. The bullet passage tube 56 includes a front end connected to the outlet opening 31 of the gun barrel 30.

The dye coating device 50 further comprises an inner tube 58 sleeved inside the gun barrel 30. The unidirectional check module 51 and the dye coating module 52 are mounted within the inner tube 58, so that the inner tube 58 and the bullet passage tube 56 cooperatively define the dye powder reservoir 57. The inner tube 58 includes an upper half 581 and a lower half 582, both being formed on the inner walls thereof with recesses 583 for positioning the unidirectional check module 51 and the bullet passage tube 56. The upper half 581 is coupled to the lower half 582 by a buckle element. As shown in FIG. 5, the buckle element may by way of example comprise one or more first clip portions 584 and one or more second receiver portions 585. The respective first clip portions 584 are received by and engage the respective receiver portions 585, so that the unidirectional check module 51 and the dye coating module 52 are secured within the space defined by the upper half 581 and a lower half 582.

When the user pulls the trigger 20, the compressed gas loaded within the gas tank 40 is released and propel the bullet 70 located in the gun barrel 30 towards the dye coating device 50. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, when the bullet 70 passes through the unidirectional check module 51, the bullet 70, upon being propelled by the gas, pushes the backflow-proof filter 53 to open up. After the bullet 70 passes through, the backflow-proof filter 53 immediately closes up to prevent dye powder from entering the gun barrel 30.

As shown in FIG. 7, the bullet 70 induces a negative pressure when passing through the bullet passage tube 56, making some of the dye powder loaded within the dye powder reservoir 57 travel across the apertures 561 and get into the bullet passage tube 56. The dye powder adheres on the bullet 70, so that the bullet 70 is coated with a dye layer 71, as shown in FIG. 8. Preferably, the apertures 561 may be shaped into a funnel form 562 having a larger opening at the dye powder reservoir 57 as compared with the opposite opening at the bullet passage tube 56, thereby facilitating the coating of dye powder. Moreover, the bullet 70 would accumulate electrostatic charge on its surface when passing through the backflow-proof filter 53, so that the dye layer 71 is firmly adhered onto the bullet 70 due to electrostatic attraction.

By virtue of the structural arrangement described above, the pneumatic gun disclosed herein is adapted for directly coating a dye layer on the bullet, rather than using the conventional dye-filled paintballs with higher structural complexity. If the bullet hits an object, the dye layer coated on the bullet would somewhat transfer to the object, allowing the user to easily confirm the hit. In addition, the pneumatic gun is provided with a backflow-proof filter to prevent dye powder from entering the pneumatic gun, so as to avoid any contamination to the pneumatic gun.

In conclusion, the pneumatic gun disclosed herein can surely achieve the intended objects and effects of the invention by virtue of the structural arrangement described above. While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments above, it should be recognized that the preferred embodiments are given for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention and that various modifications and changes, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A pneumatic gun, comprising: a gun body; a trigger pivotally mounted to the gun body; a gun barrel extending from the gun body and having a free end formed with an outlet opening, wherein the trigger is connected to and cooperates with the gun barrel to project bullets from the outlet opening; a gas tank installed within the gun body; and a dye coating device mounted within the gun barrel and comprising a dye coating module, wherein the dye coating module comprises a bullet passage tube and a dye powder reservoir surrounding the bullet passage tube and the bullet passage tube is disposed in communication with the dye powder reservoir via a plurality of apertures, and wherein the bullet passage tube has a front end connected to the outlet opening of the gun barrel.
 2. The pneumatic gun according to claim 1, wherein the dye coating device further comprises a unidirectional check module mounted at the rear of the dye coating module, and wherein the unidirectional check module comprises at least one backflow-proof filter formed with a plurality of radially arranged incisions.
 3. The pneumatic gun according to claim 2, wherein the at least one backflow-proof filter comprises a convex portion protruding toward the free end of the gun barrel.
 4. The pneumatic gun according to claim 2, further comprising an inner tube mounted within the internal space of the outer tube to accommodate the unidirectional check module and the dye coating module, so that the inner tube and the bullet passage tube cooperatively define the dye powder reservoir.
 5. The pneumatic gun according to claim 4, wherein the inner tube comprises an upper half and a lower half, both being formed on the inner walls thereof with recesses for positioning the unidirectional check module and the bullet passage tube, and wherein the upper half is coupled to the lower half by a buckle element.
 6. The pneumatic gun according to claim 5, wherein the buckle element comprises one or more first clip portions and one or more second receiver portions, and wherein the respective first clip portions are received by and engage the respective receiver portions.
 7. The pneumatic gun according to claim 2, wherein the unidirectional check module further comprises a first fastener member and a second fastener member, and wherein the at least one backflow-proof filter is sandwiched in position between the first fastener member and the second fastener member.
 8. The pneumatic gun according to claim 7, wherein the first fastener member is provided with one or more third clip portions and the second fastener member is provided with one or more fourth receiver portions, and wherein the respective third clip portions are received by and engage the respective fourth receiver portions. 